You are here

Pay Increase Recommended For Oklahoma Judiciary

TULSA — A state board has recommended a 12 percent salary increase for members of the Oklahoma judiciary that could lead to similar raises for all statewide elected officials.

The Board of Judicial Compensation meets every two years to review judicial pay and make recommendations. If the salary hike goes through, it would be the first pay increase for judges in six years.

Gov. Mary Fallin and the Legislature rejected the board’s proposal two years ago, and in 2009, the board didn’t recommend any raises.

“We want to retain and attract high-quality judges,” said board chairman Tony Sellars. He noted that the general counsel of the University of Oklahoma was paid $90,000 a year more than the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s chief justice.

“All of these people could make a tremendous amount of money in private practice,” he said. “It’s imperative to make the compensation system equitable.”

The Tulsa World reported Wednesday that the new pay schedule will become effective unless the Legislature votes to stop it. The plan calls for half of the increase to take effect July 1, 2014, with the other half coming July 1, 2015.

“We’re recommending a scale based on what we believe is fair compensation … given the type of work and the amount of work done by the judiciary,” Sellars said.

But approving the pay raise will lead to similar increases for statewide elected positions such as governor, lieutenant governor, treasurer and others. In Oklahoma, salaries for statewide elected officials are pegged to judicial salaries.

A spokesman for the governor said Fallin and her staff are reviewing the compensation report.